I'd rather be having a quiet drink... and can be followed on Twitter @alcothusiast; and friended on Untappd (handle: "neilcake" - all welcome).

Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Spirit Log: Old Ballantruan

It
was back to the whisky procurement matrix for the focus of this
week’s post. The target: a Speyside malt with no age statement or
under 10 years old. I had a bit of a search, then made a list of
targets and started comparing prices.

At
the lowest end of the pricing spectrum, and very tempting, was the
Glen Grant Major’s Reserve. That was going for as little as £22 at
one of the major supermarkets, but the handy price comparison on
Bring a Bottle showed that it frequently dipped as low as £18.
I thought I’d wait for that to happen before dipping my toe in that
particular bucket.

The
range then extended from an uninspiring Benromach 5, through an ugly
but positively reviewed Cu Dhub, a Gordon and MacPhail bottling of an
8 year old Tamdhu and finished at the top of the price range with a
classy looking Spey Tenne (which I always read as “spray tan”),
tawny port finish.

My
heart had already been won though, by this 50% ABV, unchillfiltered
Old Ballantruan. It isn’t a typical Speyside in that it is peated,
but what can I say? I’m a sucker for peat, and it’s rare that
I’ll pass up on those extra ABVs.

I
made a note on my matrix that the next Speysider (and indeed, scotch)
I buy absolutely must not be peated.

Now,
Old Ballantruan is from the Tomintoul distillery, and it
receives pretty much universal acclaim from the users on the main UK
retailers. Let’s just have a little look then, at what Tomintoul is
all about.

Presenting
its product as “the gentle dram” (so you can assume this whisky
will whisper tenderly in your ear and penetrate you slowly with
plenty of foreplay and lubrication), the Tomintoul distillery is
located close to the highest village in the highlands of Scotland
(groovy), in the prestigious Glenlivet estate, though it is
apparently only the second highest distillery. So is the highest
distillery nowhere near a village, or is there a really steep incline
between Tomintoul and the highest village? I never realised Glenlivet
was an estate and not merely a distillery, so I found it confusing
when I read Old Ballantruan was a Tomintoul malt, but the bottle
stated “Glenlivet” on it. I’m not a fan of the standard
Glenlivet, but that shouldn’t matter here.

The
Tomintoul website (at the time of writing) doesn’t make mention of
the Old Ballantruan expression – similarly to how the Old
Ballantruan bottle (and box) doesn’t mention anything about
Tomintoul. What it does say is that they use the pure spring water
from the Ballantruan Spring, and that Tomintoul whiskies are not
peated – except the Tomintoul Peaty Tang. It looks, after digging
around some of the internets, that Old Ballantruan has actually been
discontinued, and the Peaty Tang is what stands in its place. I
wonder whether I should focus my energies from time to time on
finding discontinued expressions, since they will represent the last
chances I have to try them. That’s something to think about. Of
course it will also mean it is harder to buy them again if I like
them.

Now,
when you get peated malts it’s nice to find out about phenol
content. Phenols are measured in parts per million and particularly
renowned peaty whiskies like Ardbeg are known to have a content of
around 55ppm – which doesn’t seem very much, but if you’re
familiar with Ardbeg, you’ll know that packs quite a punch.
Bruichladdich’s Octomore range regularly exceeds 160ppm, sometimes
more than 200, but they also exceed £140 for spirit aged only a few
years, so you’d have to be particularly adventurous (or lucky (or
extravagant)) to find out what that’s like.

All
this leads me to saying that the phenol content of Old Ballantruan is
unclear. One source suggested 55ppm, so matching Ardbeg, but another
claimed it is only 30ppm. As ever, you just can’t trust the
internet.

So
how’s it looking? As far as presentation is concerned you get a
dull but sturdy tube depicting some gents digging up a bit of peat
and a dark bottle that matches the design of the tube. The neck is
fairly long and rounds out at the shoulders before tapering slightly
to a sturdy bottom.

While
from from whisky-discovery.blogspot.com, we have; “The smell of a
big damp warehouse or cricket store at the end of winter...”

My
initial impressions are favourable. Definite peaty sweetness on the
nose, and some toffee on the palate. None of those other things
present for me though. You only have to say “damp cricket store”
to me, and I can smell it, so it definitely isn’t in this whisky.
As for haggis, I doubt it is even possible for whisky to taste of
that, and it just smacks of someone trying to reference something
patently Scottish. Just give it up.

Some
other tastings

I’ve
been enjoying the Old Ballantruan so much neat that I found it hard
to finally take the step toward adding a drop of water. Considering
it’s an impressive 50%, there isn’t any burn to speak of. In
fact, the only hint of the high strength is a very slight bitterness
on the finish. Nevertheless, one day I did add water, and when I say
it was only a drop, it really was only a drop. The immediate effect
was wonderful; highlighting the sweet tones. As that paricular
tasting progressed, for some reason the stunted taste of bottled
spring water became more apparent. This wasn’t a problem on
succeeding occasions though, and I took to adding a tiny drop of
water every time I had a glass. It had grown to be very enjoyable,
and probably the best spirit I had available at that point.

I
was going to try it in a three-way tasting with Kilchoman Sanaigand an Ardbeg miniature, but for some reason my booze
collection seemed to be in constant danger of disappearing, so I
decided to be more frugal and just enjoy each on their own terms.

I
finished the Kilchoman, enjoying its distinct earthiness for its own
sake, and then decided I would do a direct Ballantruan-Ardbeg
comparison one Friday night anyway.

In
terms of colour, Ardbeg is much paler, while on the nose I made notes
that the Old Ballantruan was “custardy” with a pleasant hint of
ginger and the Ardbeg “sweet and peachy” (how I like my women –
though I probably wouldn’t mind if they were custardy, too – or
indeed ginger, for that matter).

I
added water to the Old Ballantruan, to help bring out some of its
sweetness, but I didn’t do the same to the Ardbeg, since I only had
a miniature and I wouldn’t dare to disrespect it in this way –
not that I’m disrespecting the Ballantruan, it’s just that the
Old Ballantruan is 50% alcohol, while Ardbeg is only 46%. I don’t
think you should ever add water to your whisky if it’s 46% or less.
But that’s just me.

Anyways,
on the tongue, Ardbeg is earthy, appley, and shows traces of Indian
spices when held. It remains one of my favourites. In spite of this,
I can’t find much to separate these two malts. They are both
excellent, and excellent value. Ardbeg of course continues to be
available, so the Old Ballantruan might be worth a punt while you can
still get a hold of it.

1 comment:

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Definitions

What happens when you zone out after having had a cheeky lunchtime pint.

Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

Anxiety, The:

The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

Booze Buffet Mentality:

The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

Booze Porn:Photos of alcohol.

Bread Chest:Not booze related, but this term describes the indigestion you get from eating too many bread products too quickly. Just putting it out there...

Crawler's Block:The inability to decide where to go next during a pub crawl - often resulting in crawl stagnation and someone saying, "shall we just have another one here?"

Crawl Stagnation:The result of failing to plan a pub crawl sufficiently - lack of a route, theme or over-familiarity with nearby pubs can all be contributing factors.

Excess Induced Alcohol Aversion:An intolerance for a drink caused (usually) by one occasion of overindulgence.

The Family:My whisky collection.

MOMA:

Moment of Maximum Appreciation. Every bottle has one. It's the time you drink it where you enjoy it most.

Old Man Pub:Traditional British pub, renowned for being quiet, cosy and frequented by old men. Much favoured by people who like a nice chat while they drink.Psychological Drinks Cabinet:Collective term relating to the kinds of alcoholic drinks a person has need for.Road Beers:

Cans of beer that you take with you when you go out, to consume on the way.

The 3 Types of Rum:White, gold and dark. Together they form the base of many a great cocktail.

About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.